Motor vehicles which comprise an electric engine as the driving device instead of an internal combustion engine or in addition to an internal combustion engine have a “traction battery” in order to be able to supply the electric engine with electrical energy during operation. The traction battery is designed as a high voltage battery and comprises a multiplicity of rechargeable battery modules which are accommodated in a battery housing and are electrically connected to one another. The battery housing with the battery modules of the traction battery accommodated therein can be arranged within the motor vehicle in different ways. One possible accommodating location is, for example, an underbody structure of the motor vehicle.
In the event of a crash, in particular in a side impact, there is the problem that the battery modules of the traction battery that are accommodated within the battery housing may under some circumstances become damaged because of the high mechanical loads, and therefore, for example, electrolytic fluids may escape out of the battery modules. Therefore, a very wide variety of measures have already been taken in the prior art to protect the modules from damage in the event of a crash. The measures include, inter alia, battery housings which are of mechanically particularly stable design or—as known, for example, from EP 2 505 458 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein,—additional protective components of the battery modules. Underbody structures which likewise provide protection for the battery modules of traction batteries in the event of a crash are known from US 2010/0264699 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, and from US 2013/0229030 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein. In the case of the underbody structure disclosed in the last-mentioned document, a frame structure is provided which protects the battery modules of the traction battery that are accommodated in the receiving space against damage in the event of a crash.